TRAINING
by Frip-Ouille
Summary: Her cartridges were ready, like her firearms, two in their holsters and one other in her back. Earphones of her music player in good place.


**Disclaimer : I don't own FMA.**

**N/A : hé, je suis française et mon anglais laisse à désirer, aussi, si des phrases ne sont pas correctes, ne m'en voulez pas !**

**I'm a french girl and my english is not very good, so please don't be rude after me !**

**Les chiffres entre parenthèses réfèrent aux chansons, la liste et les paroles sont à la fin de l'histoire. Bien entendu, ces chansons ne m'appartiennent pas non plus ;-)**

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****TRAINING**

Her cartridges were ready, like her firearms, two in their holsters and one other in her back. Earphones of her music player in good place.

Riza Hawkeye was standing at the beginning of the shooting course. This one recreated landscapes from where appeared targets representing either of civil or of the enemies.

Riza uses to train herself with the shooting every morning before she returns to the HQ.

She doesn't know better way to set her record straight. Nothing got as much pleasure to her than to make fire, even on targets. Rise of adrenalin in her veins, the vibrations which were spread in her arms right after the detonation.

She closes her eyes, takes a great inspiration and presses the key "play" of her player. Riza lets the music (1) be propagated in all her body at the same time as she makes her mind a blank. She was ready.

She opens the eyes and engages on the made-up road.

First target on her left, an enemy, a bullet in full head. The music rock'n'roll howls in her ears. Always make mind a blank, forget all that is not music and keep its concentration on the targets.

Two figure targets appear opposite her through the window of a house. A terrorist holding an hostage. A bullet between the two eyes. _The terrorist died on the first shot, the hostage is shaken but saved, "lesser evil in the real life", _thinks Riza

She always progresses on the course as in her life, with determination and method. There is only the rigour of the established rules to enable her to forge ahead, not to fall in depression and of course, to fire, always and still. It had become a drug, even not soft, since her youth. She doesn't specially like to kill, but it's her job.

As far as she can remember, she had always had a weapon between the hands. Her father was a soldier, he wanted to give her the means of defending herself, in one way or another. She had shown an exceptional skill with firearms. She wanted her father to be proud of her, she put all her heart at it.

He's died now. She was alone, no more family, just a dog to hold company to her.

A new song, this time an electro one (2). Her tastes as regards music were eclectic. She could pass from traditional to hard rock without problem.

She keeps going arm in her fist, a target emerges on her right, she turns round but retains her shot, it was a woman holding a young girl in her arms "_Reassure you Madam, the situation is well in hand, return on your premise"._

She was now going along a discovered waste ground "_In open country, be extra careful and concentrated_". Eyes in alarms, regular breathing. Riza fires as well from the right hand than the left. She is gifted with guns, but the weapon which she prefers it's rifle because it allows her to keep her distance from her victims, in this way she doesn't have to face them.

Two targets appear simultaneously on her left and on her right, Riza ensures the hold of her gun in her right hand and grabs her other pistol with her left hand, it takes only few seconds. Only one detonation occurs, however the two targets fall. "_You died guys, was not necessary to try to show off"._

She walks with measured steps, she has covered half of the course and still not only one bead of sweat.

Her score is perfect. Each killed enemy reports points whereas civil killed withdraws some. This time the scenery reproduces ruins. Perfect for ambushes. The ground is covered with sand. A fine sand as in Ishbal.

She never speaks about Ishbal, few people know that she there took part, even his colonel is unaware of it, however he was there too. It is there that she saw him for the first time. With through the sight of her rifle. He never knew it, he will never know it. One moment she had held his life at the end of her rifle. She had only to press the trigger and it would have be done with him.

The music is still diffused in her earphones (3), her pulse beats at the same rhythm.

Behind a half-ruined wall, a cardboard man emerges, he wears the traditional behaviour of the ishbalites, he holds up a stone. "_Poor guy_". She fires him in the hand. That one will have the life saved, not like his comrades. Riza was also capable of compassion. Especially for these people eradicated by the army "_Thank you alchemists, good job_". There remain now only some survivors parked in camps all over the country.

Riza took a break, time to reload her guns. What nobody knows, it's that her mother was ishbalite. She gets of her the color of her eyes, amber almost red. That's funny, nobody never made the connection. One must say that with her blond hair and her creamy skin, she doesn't look like her maternal ancestors too much.

Despite all the love her father felt for his wife, he was used to saying to her that it was a chance for her not to resemble to her mother, she could thus have an easier life, more integrated.

Which irony that she was sent on the battlefields. She had to kill out people which had same blood as her in the veins "_I will not be able to ever ask you enough Pardon mom "_

She left the desert quickly to find herself downtown again. There the creators of the course had surpassed themselves by recreating a dense rain which falls down on the false buildings. Odd as the sceneries follow without having any report, ten meters front, she was in full desert and she was now soaked to the skin. But it is necessary to know to face in any circumstance, and the bad conditions weather form part of it.

She was reaching the end of the course. She remembered the day when they had fallen face to face with the man called Scar, the armed arm sent by God to punish the alchemists of their sins. What did God have to see with the matter ? Nothing. There are only men who make absurd decisions, weak men plugg by the power and who commit the worst crimes to achieve their goal, even if it means to erase a whole people.

She realized this during the Ishbal war. They were only pawns in the hands of poor insanes thirsting for glory and power.

She understood what Scar could feel, but he had chosen the wrong path. Revenge doesn't carry out no share. A life for another life. Equivalent exchange? You bet ! and how does one make to give value to a life? Are all lives worth ? Who has the adequate balance ?

She had understood it too whereas she aimed at the alchemist. Kill him won't change nothing. Others would come. And then she had learned by surprising a conversation that he had projects to change things, to put an end to all these conflicts.

Then she took the decision to help him of best than she could, to carry him as high as possible in the hierarchy. She would put her talents at his service. She will kill for him, to protect him.

For this day, she had worked to be transfered under his orders and she had never left him since.

A new song in her earphones (4), she says to herself that it suits well with her mood. Perfect.

She engaged in the streets, the rain was stinging against her face but she paid no attention to it. She had felt a new push of adrenalin when she remembered their confrontation with Scar.

She shooted down two new threatening targets and saved four others of them, all civil. A silhouette appeared representing a couple. In her head, the information "_civil, do not kill_" was formed. She hold her gesture.

Love. In her family, love was a feeling which is not to be treated lightly. Her father had loved her mother at the point to go against all his precepts. When she died in childbirth, he become the shade of himself. Even his child was not able to bring back the smile for him. It was as if his capacity to love had died at the same time as his wife. He never had started a new life with another woman. He often said to her that he had known love once and that it had filled his life forever.

Single love. A feature of family. A real curse for Riza. She doesn't want this love, it hurts her. She had tried well to drown it in the arms of other men, but each time she had felt dirtied, she didn't ever make the experiment again. However she knows well that one day she would have to take the decision to leave.

Blow it ! Now the song too recalled her what she feels at the present time(5). She has to finish quickly this cursed course.

Last meters, last target. This one represented a man in uniform of the army. He has all dishevelled brown hair. The resemblance was too perfect. Riza fired and emptied her magazine in full heart.

The song had just finished. Perfect timing, the last word pronounced by the singer was "Stop".

The impacts of the bullets held in the fist of a man. She has just killed a soldier.

Shit for her record. A killed soldier cancelled all the enemies killed previously.

Score Riza Hawkeye: 0

She messes about it, she feels well, in phase with herself.

She left, took a shower and went to the HQ. The others had already arrived. No matter, she would leave the last as usual.

She introduced herself to her chief, colonel Roy Mustang, and gave him the salute.

- Good morning Colonel.

- Good morning Lieutenant Hawkeye. Then this score this morning?

- Nil draw, Mister.

- As usual, Lieutenant. How do you make? You are the best marksman than the army ever knew, but you always make zero with the training course.

- I don't know Sir, a curse undoubtedly.

- Would be necessary to see to put an end to it then.

- I'm working for Colonel, I assure you of that.

Riza left the office without more anything to add.

Still a few years, time that he climbs the levels of the hierarchy to reach the rank of Fuhrer and she could finally leave, to put an end to the pain. Hold on, after all, she had looked at him for a long time and since she had known that her heart would not beat any more but for him.

She sighed. Tomorrow, she will go again on the course. She will keep on going there as long as the score would not be satisfactory.

In the Colonel's office, Roy Mustang was thoughtful. Intrigued by the score always nil of his lieutenant, he has done a little private investigation. He had learned the system from the positive and negative points. He knew also the rule concerning the killed soldiers. He has learned that his first lieutenant made a good shoot to the last target, where she lost all her points. He had thus gone to the site and had asked to see the target. When he saw the target whose heart was riddled with bullets, he understood.

Roy says in low voice :

I will help you Hawkeye, I make you the promise. As soon as possible, as soon as that is allowed to me, I will put an end to this curse, for us two Riza. I promise.

END

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****Pour FrequencyQueen qui a eu la gentillesse de laisser un commentaire. La dernière silhouette du parcours qui représente un militaire ressemble très fortement à Roy, c'est pourquoi Riza le vise en plein cœur.**

**For FrequencyQueen which reviewed this story. The last target looks like Roy, that's why Riza shoots it straight in the heart.**

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****(1) Evanescence - Bring me to life**

How can you see into my eyes like open doors  
Leading you down into my core  
Where I've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold  
Until you find it there and lead it back home wake me up inside  
Wake me up inside  
Call my name and save me from the dark  
Bid my blood to run  
Before I come undone  
Save me from the nothing I've become

Now that I know what I'm without  
You can't just leave me  
Breathe into me and make me real  
Bring me to life

Refrain:  
Wake me up inside  
Wake me up inside  
Call my name and save me from the dark  
Bid my blood to run  
Before I come undone  
Save me from the nothing I've become  
Bring me to life  
Bring me to life

Frozen inside without your touch without your love darling  
Only you are the life among the dead

All this time I can't believe I couldn't see  
Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me  
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
Got to open my eyes to everything  
Without a thought without a voice without a soul  
Don't let me die here  
There must be something more  
Bring me to life

**(2) Moby - Extreme ways**

extreme ways are back again  
extreme places i didn't know  
i broke everything new again  
everything that i'd owned  
i threw it out the windows, came along  
extreme ways i know move apart  
the colors of my sea  
perfect color me

extreme ways that that help me  
help me out at night  
extreme places i had gone  
but never seen any light  
dirty basements, dirty noise  
dirty places coming through  
extreme worlds alone  
did you ever like it planned

i would stand in line for this  
there's always room in life for this

oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, it fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, it fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
like it always does, always does

extreme songs that told me  
they helped me down every night  
i didn't have much to say  
i didn't get above the light  
i closed my eyes and closed myself  
and closed my world and never opened  
up to anything  
that could get me along

i had to close down everything  
i had to close down my mind  
too many things to cover me  
too much can make me blind  
i've seen so much in so many places  
so many heartaches, so many faces  
many dirty things  
you couldn't believe

i would stand in line for this  
it's always good in life for this

oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, it fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
then it fell apart, it fell apart  
oh baby, oh baby  
like it always does, always does

**(3) Muse - Time is running out**

I think I'm drowning  
asphyxiating  
I wanna break the spell  
that you've created

you're something beautiful  
a contradiction  
I wanna play the game  
I want the friction

you will be  
the death of me  
yeah you will be  
the death of me

bury it  
I won't let you bury it  
I won't let you smother it  
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out  
and our time is running out  
you can't push it underground  
we can't stop it screaming out

I wanted freedom  
but I'm restricted  
I tried to give you up  
but I'm addicted

now that you know I'm trapped  
sense of elation  
you'll never dream of breaking this fixation  
you will squeeze the life out of me

bury it  
I won't let you bury it  
I won't let you smother it  
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out  
and our time is running out  
you can't push it underground  
we can't stop it screaming out  
how did it come to this

yeah you will suck the life out of me

bury it  
I won't let you bury it  
I won't let you smother it  
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out  
and our time is running out  
you can't push it underground  
we can't stop it screaming out

and how did it come to this

**(4) Within Temptation - Stand my ground**

I can see

when you stay low nothing happens

does it feel right ?

Late at night

things i thought i put behind me

haunt my mind

I just know theres no escape

now once it sets its eyes on you

but i wont run, have to stare it in the eye

Stand my ground, i wont give in

no more denying, i got to face it

won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside

if i don't make it, someone else will stand my ground

It's all around

getting stronger, comming closer

into my world

I can feel

that it's time for me to face it

can i take it?

Though this might just be the ending

of the life i held so dear

but i wont run, theres no turning back from here

Stand my ground (repeat chorus)

All i know for sure is i'm trying

i will always stand my ground

Stand my ground (repeat chorus x 2)

**(5) Texas - Put your arms around me**

are you ready maybe  
are you willing to run  
are you ready to let yourself drown  
are you holding your breath  
are you ready or not

are you ready maybe  
do you long to confess  
do you feel that you're already numb  
are you sure of yourself  
would you lie if you're not

you tire me out  
don't wanna let that happen  
a secret scream so loud  
why did you let that happen

ooh ooh so put your arms around me  
you let me believe that you are someone else  
ooh ooh cause only time can take you  
so let me believe  
that I am someone else

maybe, are you ready to break  
do you think that I push you too far  
would you open yourself  
are you reckless or not

you tire me out  
don't wanna let that happen  
a secret scream so loud  
why did you let that happen

ooh ooh so put your arms around me  
you let me believe that you are someone else  
ooh ooh cause only time can take you  
so let me believe  
that I am someone else  
that I am someone else

sha na na na na  
sha na na na na  
sha na na na na  
sha na na na na

sha na na na na  
sha na na na na  
sha na na na na  
sha na na na na

sha na na na na

ooh ooh so put your arms around me  
ooh ooh so put your arms around me

make me believe  
take me take me  
somewhere  
somewhere  
let me believe  
cause only time can take you  
so stop


End file.
